Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1887-07-30
SATURDAY HALF-HOLIDAY.
JENNY JUNE.

Holidays are pleasant things to talk about,
and the Saturday halfholiday has been
very popular measure. The idea of enabling
half a million of working people to leave the
city and find refreshment among the jewellers
in the country drink fresh milk, walk in
the woods and over the grass, and come back
rested and ready for another term of heat
and hard work, caught the public fancy, and
there was no rest until it became an accom-
plished fact. That it does work out these
results for some persons there is no doubt,
but the question has many sides to it, and
naturally only one was presented.
A New York lady of my acquaintance,
whose husband sympathizes with class of
reformers whose personal appearance shows
small familiarity with soap and water, re-
marked once that she should not object to
them 80 much if they would only keep their
hands clean. In replying, her husband said,
''This sounds like small thing, but keeping
the hands clean means luxury. 1t means
the possession of room, home appliances
for washing, clean towels--often renewed
soap, and the power to command these at
any and all times"
Just so in regard to the Saturday half
holiday. It means the possession of money
to pay boat or railroad fares, to provide
fitting clothing for the family, to pay for
accommodations away from home, to leave
the house so that 1t will not suffer. All this
is only possible to few of the real workers
These people dread holidays, because it
means less wages-a slice out of the income
which can be very ill-spared Besides, they
have learned to accommodate themselves to
their opportunities, and they do not yet
know what to do with the larger ones
afforded them. The majority of girls-work-
ing girls-would have preferred to spend the
halliday shopping, seeing the Stores buying
cotton lace gloves, ribbons and handker-
chiefs at the reduced summer prices. But
they could not do that. The stores were
closed, it was like Sunday, there was nothing
to do but go to the park, which has become
very old story, or go home and sew, or
"help mother" There are q very large
number of women-workers who make good
wages, who come from homes in the country,
or who have friends and relatives there, who
naturally and gladly seize every opportunity
of leaving the city and spending Sunday
with them. These flocked out by the thou
sands, but these are not those who suffer for
want of holiday. Their hours are compare
uNeiy easy. lHey Jake TWO weeks IN sum-
mer, or more If they choose and they can
arrange for Sunday in the country when
they please. The class which 1t does not
help is that one which needs 1t most, that
one to which any loss of income means the
positive loss of the poor opportunities they
possess, not the addition of more There is
another view of the subject, however, which
has not been discussed but which will soon
be apparent. 1t is this, that the half-holiday
will soon become whole and compulsory
one in short, that the movement will sim
ply reduce the working days of the week to
five, and in many cases to four. The eco
nomic necessity of this humiliation of Satur-
day became apparent at once down town"
to all the great banking, brokerage, financial
and other establishments of that ik. Bust
ness does not begin in these circles till ten in
the morning, and is not fairly under way
till eleven o'clock; between this and twelve,
noon, there is not time to do enough of paying
work to make it worth while to open offices
or keep corps of clerks on hand. There is
no time for the racket at the Stock Exchange,
fights between bulls and bears. transactions
in stocks or sales of real estate.
d. The result of this is that already more
than half of the important downtown
offices are closed for the entire day on Satur-
day, business men leaving ON Friday even